This invention relates to overhead doors and, more particularly, to an overhead door panel that has an improved wear surface on the mating adjacent edges of the panels and provides an improved light block and weather barrier for an overhead door.
There are numerous designs of overhead or retractable door assemblies which are commonly used for garage doors, truck doors, warehouse doors or the like. Typically, an overhead door of this type is convertible between an open, overhead or generally horizontal configuration and a closed generally vertically oriented configuration in which the door closes an opening in the building or the like. The overhead door is typically movable along a track assembly mounted proximate the opening and the track assembly commonly includes a generally vertical track section, a generally horizontal track section and a curved transition track section joining the horizontal and vertical sections together.
Retractable overhead doors of this type are conventionally constructed of a number of vertically arranged, horizontally oriented panels which can fold along the horizontal divisions between the panels to enable the door to pass along the curved transition section of the track when being opened or closed. The panels are pivotally coupled together with hinges on the interior surface or back face of the door panels. Commonly, gaps appear between the adjacent panels while the panels are traveling toward and/or through the curved transition section of the track. Foreign objects could be inserted into these gaps by accident or due to improper handling of the door.
Recently, many different overhead door designs have been suggested which are aimed at addressing this situation. Commonly, such designs are referred to as xe2x80x9cpinch-resistantxe2x80x9d or the like in the industry. These types of door designs often include complicated hinge structures, guards which cover the gaps between the articulating panels or involved and complicated panel geometries to minimize or inhibit the insertion of a probe or other foreign object between the adjacent articulating panels. One such design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,817, assigned to the assignee of this invention.
The panel configuration, geometry and interaction between the adjacent panels is often very important to providing the desired benefits of such a design. The tolerances, the interrelationship of the assembled panels and the installation of the door is therefore very important to its proper operation. The ability to minimize the spacing or gap between the adjacent panels is very advantageous to providing pinch-resistant protection. Standard objectives for such designs focus on a maximum spacing or gap of 4 to 9 millimeters or even less.
Proper alignment of the panels relative to one another is very important to achieve proper operation of the door. Furthermore, improper alignment of the panels may resulting in binding or interference of the adjacent panels during articulation of the door between the opened and closed configurations. Further, improper alignment or installation of the panels often results in excessive rubbing or interaction between the adjacent panels which results in the increased wear, rubbing, friction or the like along the mating edges of the adjacent panels. Commonly, the panels are constructed of aluminum, steel or other metal materials and have a wood grain or other textured surface embossed, formed or imprinted thereon to provide the appearance of a wood panel. This textured surface often includes a number of closely spaced bumps, ridges or the like to simulate the wood grain appearance. Such bumps and ridges are easily scraped, rubbed or damaged when the panels interact with one another.
Additionally, many such panel designs do not provide for adequate protection to inhibit moisture, light, dirt, wind or other foreign elements from entering into and passing through the door between the adjacent panels, particularly when the door is exposed to extreme weather.
Therefore, there is a need in the industry for an improved wear surface on the mating edges of garage door panels, particularly for the above-described panels, which does not wear, degrade or rub to result in damage to the panels and which provides for the desired tolerances and spacing between the mating edges of the panels to meet design objectives while also offering a barrier to the weather, light and debris for the mating edges.
A presently preferred embodiment of this invention offers these and other advantages over known overhead door and panel designs. The overhead door according to this invention in one embodiment includes a number of horizontally oriented panels vertically stacked one upon the other in edge-to-edge relationship. The panel design of the door includes an outer, preferably metal, skin which extends from a front face of the door panel around upper and lower edges of the panel. The upper edge of the panel includes a short landing area or shoulder which projects perpendicularly from the front face of the panel. The upper edge of each panel includes a generally convex, segmented or polygonal surface which is configured to mate with the lower edge of an adjacent panel. The lower edge includes a rounded nose portion and a segmented or polygonal concave surface.
The panels are coupled to a track assembly mounted proximate the garage, warehouse, truck or other opening. The track assembly includes a generally vertical section, a generally horizontal section and a curved transition section joining the horizontal and vertical sections together. Rollers are mounted on the panels and coupled to the track assembly to guide the door between a closed generally vertical configuration with the upper and lower edges of the adjacent panels mated together and an open generally horizontal configuration extending generally parallel to the ceiling of the garage or the like.
The mating upper and lower edges of the adjacent panels contact each other at specified contact locations when the door is in the closed configuration. In one presently preferred embodiment, the upper and lower edges have first and second spaced contact locations in which the first contact location is formed between the nose on the lower edge of upper panel and the shoulder on the upper edge of the lower panel. The second contact location in one presently preferred embodiment of this invention is spaced from the first contact location and is proximate the back face of the panels. The skin preferably has an embossed wood grain texture or appearance.
Advantageously, frictional interaction, rubbing, wear or damage to the panel edges is minimized, particularly at the contact locations, by a combined weather seal, light block and wear insert which in one embodiment includes an anchor portion in the form of a pair of legs or the like which are inserted into a groove formed in the central region of the upper edge of each panel. The wear insert portion is preferably polypropylene and covers at least a section of the upper edge of each panel. The combined weather seal, light block and wear insert is located in the gap between the contact locations of the adjacent panels and between the mating edges of the panels at the rear contact location proximate the back face of the panels. The wear insert portion is preferably in one of two embodiments: (1) xe2x80x9clongxe2x80x9d in which it extends between the panel edges at the front contact location near the front face of the panels and the back contact location near the back faces, or (2) xe2x80x9cshortxe2x80x9d in which it does not extend to the front contact location and ends in the central region of the panel""s cross-section. Advantageously, the wear insert minimizes the rubbing or friction between the adjacent panels during articulation of the panels.
The wear insert portion may in some embodiments minimize the gap between the mating edges of the adjacent panels to offer increased protection without increased roll forming tolerances for the panel edges. As such, the wear insert portion is primarily utilized during the opening and closing of the door so that frictional interaction or rubbing between the mating edges of the panels is minimized. In other words, the mating edges of the adjacent panels which would normally rub or interact during the opening and/or closing of the door will contact the wear insert thereby alleviating friction, wear and potential damage to the edges of the panels. However, when the door is ultimately in the closed configuration, the insert does not detrimentally interfere with the adjacent panels thereby allowing the panels to properly mate, align and support one another according to the desired specifications and requirements. The wear insert further provides a reduced spacing between the mating edges and increased protection without tightening the roll forming tolerances and requirements on the panels.
The weather seal portion in one embodiment of this invention is a flexible fin and projects generally upright or perpendicularly from the wear insert portion just behind the anchor portion and in front of the rear contact location. The weather seal fin deflects or bends when the panels are mated together and inhibits water, wind and the like from passing between the adjacent panels.
Additionally, this invention in one embodiment includes a light blocking flexible fin that projects generally upright or perpendicularly from the wear insert portion proximate a trailing edge of the wear insert. The light blocking fin closes the gap between the mating edges of the adjacent panels and in one embodiment deflects or bends to block the passage of light between the adjacent panels.
Therefore, with this invention the regions of the mating edges of adjacent panels in an overhead door which normally would experience friction, rubbing, wear and potential damage are protected and the joints between the panels are weather and light resistant due to the combined weather seal, light block and wear insert embodied in this invention. As a result, the required mating configuration, interrelation and compatibility of the adjacent panels to achieve the design parameters are maintained without excessive wear, friction, rubbing or damage to the panels during opening and closing of the door or increased roll forming demands on the production of the panels while still providing a weather and light barrier when the door is closed.